Marvell has announced a family of ARM-based family of processors designed specifically for next generation ARM instruction set smartphones, smartbooks, consumer and embedded devices, and displays. Marvell calls the family ARMADA.
'The ARMADA family 
of application processors are CPU cores with PC-class performance, support for Adobe Flash technology and Blu-ray functionality', says the Marvell announcement, 'additional features include complete broadband connectivity for the next wave of innovative electronics, spanning price points from low cost consumer gadgets all the way to premium performance devices. Customer adoption has been rapid: to date, Marvell ARMADA application processors have won more than 50 design wins.'
Marvell quotes the Linley Group, which says ARM instruction set CPUs - which power 98 percent of all mobile phones - are becoming the standard for other forms of mobile computing. Marvell ships one billion chips per year, two-thirds of which include Marvell CPUs running the ARM instruction set, making Marvell the largest producer of ARM chips in the world.
"Launch of the ARMADA family represents a watershed event in mobile computing," said Weili Dai, Marvell's co-founder and vice president and general manager of Marvell's consumer and computing business unit.
"The ARMADA family delivers to mobile devices what skeptics once doubted could be done: fast, PC-caliber processing, full Internet experience, rich media including HD quality video and 3D graphics - all in lightweight form factors with long battery life. There will always be a place for PCs, but the future of mobile computing - for smartbooks, e-readers, smart tablets and more - will by necessity get its DNA from smartphones, not PCs. Marvell's world-leading technology portfolio allows us to provide a complete platform solution not only for mobile computing, but also smartphones, gaming, printers, personal and home entertainment, and emerging consumer markets."
"The significance of the ARMADA line of processors is its unique scalability. ARMADA can be used to run everything from full-feature netbooks, smartphones to intelligent displays and blu-ray class devices," said Tim Bajarin, principal analyst with Creative Strategies.
"Marvell's ARMADA line of processors delivers PC-power, full Internet experience, very low power consumption, and price points suitable for mass markets."
The ARMADA100 series processors are designed to offer the best combination of price and performance for mainstream Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs), connected consumer products, e-readers, and new personal information appliances.
ARMADA 500 series combines computing horsepower, multimediacapability, and seamless connectivity for high-end smartbooks and tablets.
The ARMADA 600 series is dedicated to high-end smartphones, delivering high performance applications and multimedia in small form factors and low power requirements.
The ARMADA 1000 series is focused on enabling the next generation of connected full-HD consumer devices, delivering immersive viewing experiences and offering a variety of networked applications at mainstream price points.
Designed from the ground-up, Marvell's ARM CPUs are at the heart of each chip. Marvell is also introducing the newest member of the ARMADA family, the ARMADA 510 - the Company's first ARM v7 instruction set architecture compatible application processor. The ARMADA 510 is sampling in Q4.
The ARMADA family supports primary operating systems used across consumer and embedded markets including Microsoft Windows Embedded CE, Windows Mobile, Google Android, Linux, Maemo, Ubuntu, and China Mobile's OMS. To further optimize key software frameworks, Marvell provides board packages for original equipment manufacturer's (OEM) development that support Adobe Flash technology, Microsoft Silverlight, and Real Video's Real Player.
"With the release of the ARMADA processors, Marvell continues to bring innovative ARM-based products to the market," said Anup Murarka, director for technology strategy and partner development, Platform Business Unit at Adobe, "Adobe and Marvell have worked closely together to optimize Flash technology on the ARMADA architecture and deliver rich multimedia experiences on next generation mobile devices."
"At Canonical, we have been enormously impressed with what Marvell's ARMADA 510-based systems can do when running a desktop-class operating system like Ubuntu," said Chris Kenyon, vice president, OEM services at Canonical. "The ARM ecosystem is using ARMADA 510 because of its outstanding display resolution, performance, hardware multimedia, and large memory support. We believe users will love where this takes Ubuntu in terms of quality, price, and range of device availability."
To help OEMs focus their efforts on developing differentiated products at the interface and application levels, Marvell provides complete, robust systems-on-chip (SoCs) that combine optimized audio/video codecs and extensive use of open standards with full hardware and software integration to other critical platform elements such as Marvell Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/FM radio devices.
In addition to the ARMADA 100 series featuring full compatibility with previous Marvell application processors, all of the ARMADA processors feature integrated Wireless MMX2 (WMMX2) coprocessors for full-feature multimedia experience. ARMADA processor-based development and reference systems are available for all of the major market segments, shortening crucial time-to-market for device manufacturers.
Customers are already sampling ARMADA processors; devices incorporating these chips are expected to be consumer ready by early 2010.